Ten Things That Were Different The Last Time Penn State Was Ranked This High

Only one spot in the AP Poll separates the team that Joe Paterno brought to the No. 3 ranking during the 2008 season and James Franklin’s Nittany Lion squad that stands at No. 4 in the nation after one week of play, the program’s highest ranking in nearly nine years.

However, an eternity separates the two Penn State teams via the program’s fallout, an era of brutal sanctions, four different head coaches, a deluge of bad press, a Renaissance of football in Happy Valley, and everything else that the course of a decade brings.

The last time Penn State was ranked this high….

1. James Franklin was an assistant at Maryland.

2. Speaking of Maryland…

The Terps were still in the ACC, Nebraska was still in the Big 12, and Rutgers was (surprisingly) competitive in the Big East, not to be confused with the Big Ten East, in which the Scarlet Knights hold a 4-21 record.

What did Nittany Lion fans do with their spare time when they weren’t listening to constant “F*** Penn State” cheers?

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About the Author

Anthony Colucci is Onward State’s Social Media Manager, a preferred walk-on honors student, and a sophomore majoring in psychology and public relations. Despite being from the make-believe land of Central Jersey, he was never a Rutgers fan. If you ever want to know how good Saquon Barkley's ball security is, ask Anthony what happened when he tried to force a fumble at the Mifflin Streak. Feel free to follow @_anthonycolucci on Twitter and email him at [email protected] to hear the story or if you’re bored and want to chat.